As an increasing number of consumers embrace cashless transactions in the form of card, mobile and digital payments, more small businesses than ever are accepting credit cards, mobile wallets and additional payment methods.
Merchant One and Square are among the best credit card processors that cater to small businesses. One or the other may be an ideal payment processing solution for your company. We looked at our detailed Merchant One review and review of Square and gathered information about each platform’s costs, integrations, e-commerce features and more. Our goal is to help businesses make an informed decision when choosing between these industry leaders.
Merchant One vs. Square Comparison
Cost
Merchant One
Merchant One charges a monthly subscription fee plus a small percentage of the transaction. Here’s a breakdown:
- Subscription costs: $6.95 per month with an additional $99 annual fee
- In-person purchases: 0.29% to 1.55% for swiped, tapped or dipped card payments
- Keyed-in purchases: 0.29% to 1.99% for POS terminal or virtual terminal payments
To become a Merchant One subscriber, you must commit to a three-year contract. You may incur an early cancellation fee (a flat fee or a monthly fee) if you decide the service isn’t for you.
Contact Merchant One directly to inquire about negotiating lower credit card processing fees.
Square
Like Merchant One, Square charges on a subscription basis. It also uses interchange-plus pricing, where the company takes a small cut of your revenue plus a small fixed fee. We were impressed by Square’s robust free tier — a rarity in the industry (though you’ll still have to pay for credit card processing).
Here’s a breakdown of Square’s costs. Note that plan prices reflect a discount for annual billing.
|
Plan |
Monthly cost |
Per-transaction rate |
Features |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Free |
$0 |
2.6% + $0.10 (in person); 2.9% + $0.30 (online); 3.5% + $0.15 (manually entered) |
Website builder, order fulfillment, Square POS and social tools |
|
Plus |
$29 |
2.6% + $0.10 (in person); 2.9% + $0.30 (online); 3.5% + $0.15 (manually entered) |
All free features, plus website customization, QR codes, customer accounts, personalization, PayPal and subscriptions |
|
Premium |
$79 |
2.6% + $0.10 (in person); 2.6% + $0.30 (online); 3.5% + $0.15 (manually entered) |
All Plus features, plus lower processing rates, real-time data, advanced customer service and no delivery fees |
Like many credit card processors, Square offers additional selling and e-commerce tools for merchants, including the following:
Winner: Merchant One
Merchant One edges out Square on costs. Its monthly fee is significantly lower than Square’s paid plans, and its processing rates are also much lower. Even though Square offers a free version of its software, your subscription savings still won’t match Merchant One’s low processing fees in the vast majority of cases.
Whatever payment processor you select, carefully reviewing and understanding its credit card processing service agreement is essential.
Third-Party Integrations
Merchant One
Integrations are important for businesses that want to connect crucial business software. Merchant One facilitates 300-plus third-party software integrations. Additionally, Merchant One offers an open API to help organizations develop customized integrations.
Here are some notable Merchant One integrations:
Square
Square offers 350-plus business software integrations, including the following:
Winner
Although both providers offer comparable integrations, Square provides a better variety of well-known brands. That said, Square and Merchant One offer several unique integrations. Business owners should list the integrations they need and then check for compatibility on the Merchant One and Square websites.
QuickBooks Online integrates with both Merchant One and Square. Check out our QuickBooks Online review for a more in-depth evaluation of this popular accounting solution.
Hardware
Merchant One
Merchant One is an authorized POS device reseller; it does not manufacture proprietary hardware. When you work with Merchant One, the company will provide credit card processing machines for free. You may get one of these handheld POS devices:
- Verifone VX-520
- Pax S80
- FD130
- Clover devices (Clover Station, Clover Mini and Clover Flex)
Merchant One offers the Pax S80 handheld terminal for free. Source: Merchant One
Square
Unlike Merchant One, Square manufactures its hardware in-house. These devices are easy to use and budget-friendly, making them an excellent choice for merchants that must upgrade their credit card terminals.
Top hardware options include the following:
- Square Reader for magstripe: This simple device plugs into a smartphone. You can use it to swipe credit cards. Square provides a free reader for all new customers.
- Square Reader: You can pair this device with a smartphone or tablet to accept NFC contactless payments and chip cards.
- Square Terminal: This handheld device can accept payment and print receipts.
- Square Register: Square’s most advanced hardware offering features a customer-facing screen, built-in software and more.
These devices range in cost from $49 for the Square Reader to $699 for the Square Register; in some cases, monthly payment plans are available. Square also offers various hardware add-ons, such as tablet stands, cash drawers and receipt printers.
Read our in-depth review of Square POS for a more detailed look at the vendor’s POS hardware and software.
Square’s hardware lineup is sleek, affordable and user-friendly. Source: Square
Winner
Square is the hands-down winner in the hardware category. The company offers a wide variety of devices and options for accepting payments, ranging from plug-in card readers, handheld terminals and iPad software to full-service registers. Square’s hardware lineup is renowned for its user-friendliness; it’s also less expensive compared to other credit card processing hardware. While we like that Merchant One offers free hardware, customers must sign a three-year contract. Its paid hardware options are also more expensive than Square’s lineup.
E-Commerce
Merchant One
Merchant One’s valuable e-commerce features are notably more extensive than other processors’ offerings. These tools include the following:
- Integrations with over 175 shopping cart platforms
- Personalized hosted checkout pages with “buy now” buttons
- Open API for custom e-commerce solutions
- Virtual terminal for manually entering credit card numbers for card-not-present transactions
Merchant One’s virtual terminal lets merchants enter credit card information manually. Source: Merchant One
Square
We like that Square offers various e-commerce solutions for small businesses, even on its free plan. With Square, you can keep in-person and online transactions on a central dashboard.
Some of the company’s best features include the following:
- Website: Square’s free tier includes a website builder. Paid plans include plug-and-play templates and customization tools. We like that Square makes it easy to set up an online store without technical skills.
- Online ordering: Square offers several tools for businesses to sell products, take orders and set up appointments. These include logistics tools for order fulfillment, various payment options and tools for exchanges and returns. For restaurants, Square’s pickup and delivery system makes it easy for customers to place online orders.
- Social media integration: Square integrates with Google, Facebook and Instagram, making it easy for customers to find your business and place orders.
- Virtual terminal: With Square’s virtual terminal, you can manually enter credit card data.
- Checkout: The Square Checkout feature allows you to redirect customers to a Square-hosted payment page.
Square’s software lets you view in-person and e-commerce transactions on one dashboard. Source: Square
Winner
Merchant One and Square provide a nice array of e-commerce tools. However, Square takes the win here with more advanced functionality. In our opinion, restaurants will find Square’s pickup and delivery system particularly useful. We were impressed by how easy Square makes it to set up a website, even for business owners without web design skills. While Merchant One offers an open API, this isn’t a benefit small businesses can leverage without a skilled web developer.
Customer Service
Merchant One
We were impressed by Merchant One’s high-level customer service. You’ll have access to 24/7 phone, email and text support, as well as a dedicated account manager.
Merchant One scored a noteworthy score of 4.9 out of 5 on Trustpilot for customer support, which puts it far ahead of its small business credit card processing peers.
Square
In an era where automated support systems are increasingly the norm, it’s noteworthy that business owners using Square can connect with a human for assistance. You can access phone support from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT, Monday through Friday. The vendor also offers online resources like an FAQ page and a community forum.
Square scored 4.3 out of 5 on Trustpilot for its customer support, which is higher than many competitors in the credit card processing space.
Winner
Both Merchant One and Square stand out in the industry with positive customer reviews for their technical support. However, Merchant One wins this category because it supports more customer support channels. Merchant One also offers a dedicated account manager for all users, while Square only offers advanced customer support on its Premium plan. Customer service hours are another point of comparison — Merchant One offers 24/7 support, while Square’s hours are more limited.
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